SANTA MONICA, Calif. (April 6, 2016) – For the first time since 2014, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (36-11) will return to action for Bellator MMA when he faces Satoshi Ishii (14-5-1) in the main event of… Read More

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By Press Release

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (April 6, 2016) – For the first time since 2014, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (36-11) will return to action for Bellator MMA when he faces Satoshi Ishii (14-5-1) in the main event of “Bellator: Dynamite 2” on June 24, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

While “Rampage” has competed at 205-pounds for a vast majority of his nearly 17-year career, this main event contest against Ishii will take place at an agreed upon catchweight of 215 pounds.

Tickets for “Bellator: Dynamite 2,” which start at just $30, go on sale this Friday, April 8 at 10 a.m. CT on Ticketmaster.com and the Ford Box Office at Scottrade Center, with a special Bellator Nation presale available from 10 a.m. CT to 10 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 7 for fans using the code: “BELLATOR.” Doors for the event open at 5 p.m. CT local time, and the first contest takes place one hour after.

Exactly like the groundbreaking inaugural “Dynamite” event this past September in San Jose, both a mixed martial arts cage and kickboxing ring will cover the floor at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, giving fans in attendance the opportunity to see both iterations of combat sports on the same night.

A three-fight veteran of Bellator MMA, “Rampage” signed with the organization in 2013 and is riding a four-fight winning streak. His legendary career has seen him compete against some of the top names in the sport across multiple organizations including PRIDE and the UFC, generating a loyal army of fans along the way. Jackson is the proud owner of many epic highlight reel slams and knockouts that he’s racked up throughout his battles with guys like: Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Kevin Randleman, Ricardo Arona, Marvin Eastman, and perhaps most-notably his trilogy with fellow Bellator warrior Wanderlei Silva.

When he’s not beating people up in his MMA fights, Jackson’s larger than life personality has earned him multiple film roles, where he’s been able to beat people up on the big screen. Now, the 37-year-old returns to action for the fourth time under the Bellator MMA banner, where he looks to improve upon his unblemished mark within the promotion. With 19 of his fights taking place in Japan, the large contingent of Japanese MMA fans will have a hard time determining who to cheer for when “Rampage” takes on Ishii in June.

Ishii is a 29-year-old powerhouse Judoka who earned Gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing after defeating the best the world had to offer in the +100 kg division. Now fully focused on mixed martial arts, the Japanese star has competed in his home country almost exclusively throughout his 20-fight professional career and will be making his stateside debut on June 24 against “Rampage.” With half of his victories coming before reaching the judges’ scorecards, it’s worth noting that three of Ishii’s defeats have come at the hands of some of greatest the sport has to offer, such as Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko. Most recently, the judoka competed at light heavyweight for Rizin FF, during the promotion’s inaugural card on New Year’s Eve Weekend.

The Inoki Genome Federation will hold its annual “Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye” card New Year’s Eve, and the event will feature striking legend Mirko “Cro Cop” taking on decorated Judoka, Satoshi Ishii in the main event.

The Inoki Genome Federation will hold its annual “Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye” card New Year’s Eve, and the event will feature striking legend Mirko “Cro Cop” taking on decorated Judoka, Satoshi Ishii in the main event.

The card, which will be hosted by the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, will also see ONE FC lightweight champ Shinya Aoki battle Yuki Yamamoto.

Here are the MMA bouts that are scheduled for the event, which will also feature several pro-wrestling bouts.

M-1 Global has announced that Olympic Judo Gold Medalist and rising heavyweight, Satoshi Ishii, will fight at the promotion’s upcoming China debut.

Ishii will take on an opponent to be determined at the M-1 Challenge card, which… Read More

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Satoshi Ishii (photo via Full Court Press)

By FCF Staff

M-1 Global has announced that Olympic Judo Gold Medalist and rising heavyweight, Satoshi Ishii, will fight at the promotion’s upcoming China debut.

Ishii will take on an opponent to be determined at the M-1 Challenge card, which will go down November 11th, at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing. According to a press release from the promotion, the card will kick off an annual, ten year agreement for events in the nation.

The 27 year-old, Japanese fighter is riding an eight fight win streak. Most recently, Ishii worked his way to a decision win over UFC vet Philip De Fries in April.

Ishii (12-2-1) is booked to battle Mirko “Cro Cop” at an Inoki Genome Fight card on August 23rd.

M-1 Global has also announced that veteran heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov (21-5) will fight at the November 11th card. The Russian fighter’s opponent has yet to be announced.